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Bob Dancer writes a video poker column for beginners to experts. He also writes a column with Jeffrey Compton, "Player's Edge", featuring information on promotions at various Las Vegas casinos. Player's Edge is published each Friday in the Neon section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Click here to send Bob Dancer an e-mail.

Sept. 9, 2003

Paradise Found and Paradise Lacking

This past weekend Shirley and I visited the Atlantis Casino on Paradise Island, Bahamas, which is 3 miles from downtown Nassau. This has to be one of the loveliest casinos in the world. They have an eleven-million gallon aquarium housing some 50,000 marine animals. This aquarium is set up so you can view parts of it from the top, the bottom, or from the side. You will see huge numbers of exotic sea creatures that you've likely never seen before. If you ever visit Nassau, it's time well spent to visit the Atlantis for a look-see. The casino, however, is a different matter. They do have full pay 9/6 Jacks or Better, if you don't mind playing on $25 machines. For $5 machines, they have no video poker returning as much as 99%, and for quarters and dollars their most common game is a version of 9/6 Jacks where 3-of-a-kind returns 2 for 1 rather than 3 for 1, and the 4-of-a-kind is reduced from 25 for 1 to 22 for 1. These modest changes change the game from 99.5% to 91.4%, not to mention the strategy. In this game, for example, all 3-card royals are worth more than high pairs and inside straights with no high cards are now eligible to be held.

A good slot club can compensate for weak video poker, but unfortunately here their slot club is not very generous. They'll tell you that if you play at least 3 or 4 hours a day for a $1 or higher average bet, they might be able to pick up part of your room expenses. But don't bother them if you play less than that, because you're not going to receive anything. And if you're not staying at the resort, you're not eligible for any complimentaries at all. Bahamian nationals are not allowed to gamble in the casino --- for their own good. While in the Bahamas, do as the Bahamians do.

Why were we there? Shirley and I are going to be hosting three separate weeklong Norwegian Cruise Line New York to Florida to Bahamas to New York again video poker cruises next year on February 22-29, May 16-23, and September 19-26. In order to learn enough about the ship and the cruise to speak intelligently about it, last week we boarded the Norwegian Dawn Wednesday morning in Miami, spent two days in the Bahamas, and then sailed up to New York.

We are not publishing complete details for the cruise until November 1, but the ship will have 9/6 Jacks or Better, NSU Deuces Wild (for $1 through $25 machines) and a cash slot club. I'll be teaching classes on these games and "How to get the most out of WinPoker." People sending me an email asking for more information will receive the details on October 15. So if you're interested . . .

We happened to run into some players who had taken classes from me years ago and they were playing a $1 pseudo-9/6 Jacks machine. They asked me about how I thought the game would vary from normal 9/6 Jacks strategy with this particular pay schedule. I gave them some educated guesses (my WinPoker was back on the ship) and asked them WHY they were playing such a poor game. "It's the only game in town," I was told.

WRONG, at least to my way of thinking. If you MUST play when the only available game has a $250 per hour house advantage for a dollar player, clearly you have way more money than you know what to do with. There must be things in Nassau that they've never seen before, and since they won't be this way many times in their life, it's now time to see Nassau. They'll have plenty of time to play video poker when the conditions are better. Pick your spots!